Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz held an assessment Sunday evening on the threat posed by drones, balloons and kites being launched from the Gaza Strip toward Israel.
IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, the head of the National Security Council, and senior IDF officials also participated in the discussion.
Netanyahu and Katz warned Hamas that Israel would respond if the launches continued. "Israel is warning Hamas that if launches toward Israel are not stopped immediately, the IDF will act to intensify interdiction against those responsible for the launches and will move populations out of areas from which kites, drones, and balloons are set to be launched," they said.
"We will not return to the reality that existed before October 7," Netanyahu said. "Israel will not allow the Hamas terror organization, or any other factor in the Gaza Strip, to return and threaten our settlements and undermine the sense of security of our citizens."
Earlier Sunday, Netanyahu released a video addressing the growing drone threat and the possibility that it could also be used from the Gaza Strip. "Do you have a drone at home? It can be lethal. If it comes in swarms, and you arm it, it is very accurate and hard to see. For several years, we have been working on a solution to the drone problem. We are the most advanced in the world, but this is a global problem. We saw it in Ukraine, we saw it in Lebanon, we saw it in Iran, and now they are trying to renew it and bring it into Gaza."
Netanyahu said he had instructed the security establishment and IDF to take aggressive action against the threat in the southern sector. "My directive to the security establishment and the IDF is to do everything against this lethal tool. To strike it, to strike its operators, to strike from the place where it was launched, to do everything to protect our citizens."